# I pit people who are constantly complaining about cell phones **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 21, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457 "2004-06-21T15:51:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/81 "2004-06-25T04:34:22Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > And then everyone else completely misread or misunderstood the purpose of that rant, and promptly shat their pants. Yeah that’s pretty much what it looks like from here. Strange. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/82 "2004-06-25T04:46:42Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > **WeirdDave** : > > [National Safety Council](http://www.nsc.org/library/shelf/inincell.htm) Does this mean talking on the phone by holding it or is there a separate category for hands-free devices? I’d like to see a comparison of hands-free cell users and people talking to passengers. I bet it’s pretty similar. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/83 "2004-06-25T07:26:38Z")
“I’m at [a restaurant]. I was just driving down the road and all this gravel hit the front and side of my car. I looked in the rear view and I saw this little red car flipping and bouncing across the highway and then it _ricocheted_ off the front of this truck into the lane behind me and was hit by another car. _All the traffic just **stopped** _. There was no one behind me after that… It happened so fast… If I had been a millisecond later… must’ve come from the other side… didn’t even see it…” […] “…call me.” Voicemail is an interesting thing, sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![wireless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@wireless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wireless)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/84 "2004-06-25T11:36:38Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Does this mean talking on the phone by holding it or is there a separate category for hands-free devices? I’d like to see a comparison of hands-free cell users and people talking to passengers. I bet it’s pretty similar. Opal- There’s been research that shows little or no difference between distraction/accident rates for hands-free vs. “in hand” so the are statistically equivalent (which IMO makes the current laws banning only hand-held kind of stupid, but that’s a rant for another day). I’ll see if I can find a cite on line. That, combined with the data above, should give you a pretty good idea of “on the phone” vs. “conversing” or “distractions” from passengers: according to that research, the latter are more (often) distracting and cause more accidents than cell phones. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457/85 "2004-06-25T18:20:26Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > More of a person than you apparently. I at least care enough about my friends and family enough to invest in an “expensive” (wow, 30 dollars a month, sooo expensive) decision so they can reach me. > > You make me sick. Must have lots of friends. :rolleyes: Well, we’re obviously not as important as you are. We realize that the Earth will continue to revolve if we’re out of touch for 15 minutes. > [@Epimetheus](#): > > If you are so selfish you cannot understand that it is a good thing to get a hold of friends or let them get ahold of you in case their car breaks down or they are in jail, then go ahead, but don’t come in here all holier than thou with your selfish attitude and expect the world to conform to your patently self centered worldview. I got my phone so people could get a hold of me, and 30 dollars a month is chump change, even for a poor student like myself. Some of us have better things to do than sit around the house with the phone handy to get a hold of friends. Then again, my family and friends don’t seem to spend as much time in the hoosegow as yours do… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-are-constantly-complaining-about-cell-phones/251457.md?page=4)